1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to performing dental work and more specifically to a method of performing dental work and apparatus providing vision enhancement dentistry, which visually reproduces and enlarges an operative field.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Dentists routinely perform precision detailed restorations in a poorly lit oral cavity. New tooth colored restoratives have placed additional demands on the visual acuity of the practitioner. Age affects the ability of the eye to focus at closer distances and the lens of the eye loses flexibility with age. The lens is unable to accommodate and produce clear images of closer objects. A person reads small print by moving the print further from the eyes until the print becomes clear. This method of focusing makes objects smaller and more difficult to see. Many practitioners will experience the above sight problems, which creates a need to enhance their vision capabilities.
Corrective lenses are used to adjust the visual focal length and improve visual acuity. Without additional magnification, there is a tendency for practitioners to bend over and get closer to an object to increase its size, which leads to poor posture and job stress. Magnification is necessary to perform precision dental procedures.
An optical magnifying lens that attaches to glasses are called magnifying loupes. Loupes provide the wearer with object magnification in a range of 2×-3.25× actual size, providing vision enhancement to the wearer. Some clinical procedures require magnification in the range of 10×, which exceeds the capabilities of loupes. An additional disadvantage of loupes is that they are heavy and uncomfortable to wear, and some clinicians object to wearing loupes for cosmetic reasons.
Operating microscopes provide vision enhancement to operators performing clinical procedures. The operator must look through a microscope eyepiece to view an operative field. The operator must position themselves and their patients in awkward positions to view certain operative fields, a significant disadvantage of operating microscopes. The maximum magnifying capabilities of most operating microscopes exceed the practical requirements of clinical dentistry. Video cameras can be attached to operating microscopes to display magnified images on a video display. The disadvantages of combining video cameras, and operating microscopes include cost, size and weight considerations when adapting an operating microscope to a treatment room.
Video magnification is routinely used in dentistry. U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,025 to Saratoga discloses an electronic video dental camera. U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,307 to Cooper discloses an electronic video dental camera. Video dental cameras, intra-oral cameras, are a part of the general class of endoscopic viewing systems.
Intra-oral cameras are hand-held for viewing an object. The magnification and image quality is adequate for clinical diagnosis and patient communication. However, while holding the intra-oral camera it is difficult for the practitioner to perform clinical tasks with the other hand; a significant disadvantage of using intra-oral cameras. An assistant can not hold the intra-oral camera in a steady consistent position. As the camera orientation is changed it changes the frame of reference of the operator. Without a consistent frame of reference a dental practitioner does not know what direction to move their instruments during clinical procedures, therefore a practitioner cannot do dental work while using an intra-oral camera at the same time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,905 to Allred discloses a surgical camera and light assembly allowing adjustable focus and zoom capability. The camera and light are directed in the same axis and joined together. The surgical camera does not allow adjustment of the focal length of the light beam. The surgical camera does not include the capability of producing a mirror image of an operative field. The surgical camera does not provide a method performing clinical procedures without directly viewing an operative field.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,708 to Carmeli et al. discloses a video system for three dimensional imaging and photogrammetry. Dentists can perform dental work while viewing the Carmeli video images. Carmeli's camera provides standard 2D video images and composite 3D video images. However, to function as an understandable frame of reference, the movement of dental instruments from left to right in the mouth, must correspond to movements from left to right across a video screen. Applicant's invention requires a video mirror image to function as a frame of reference for performing dental procedures.
An explanation of the importance of a mirror image and it's relationship to frame of reference is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,611 to Linford in column 7, line 57 through column 8, line 9. Linford teaches the use of a camera with a mirror image so that a patient will see himself as if looking in a mirror. The reason for this is that when the patient wants to center himself in the monitor he would be inclined to move in the wrong direction if the camera did not have a mirror image. Inventor's dentist and Linford's patient experience a similar viewing perspective and thus experience a similar frame of reference. A dentist moving instruments utilizing the video mirror image as a frame of reference has the same experience as Linford's patient centering himself in the monitor. Conversely, a dentist viewing a standard video image (a non-mirror image) would be inclined to move instruments in the wrong direction.
Inventor was the first to publish an article in the dental literature, utilizing a video camera to perform dental treatment without having to look in the mouth. The article is found in Dentistry Today June 2001, volume 20 Number 6, pages 92-96. A copy of this article will be submitted in the information disclosure statement. However, the article is not prior art, because the parent application was filed, before the article was published. Inventor's camera is a clinically tested, functionally useful system in a typical dental treatment room. It solves stated orthopedic problems of dentists by allowing the dentist to choose their postural position. The dentist is not required to look directly in the mouth. The dentist does not have to bend over to look in the mouth. The camera does the bending for the dentist. The dentist does not have to wear loupes or other devices on his head to enable them to see fine detail. This allows the dentist to position their head without complying with the positional demands of an apparatus, thus eliminating neck and back strain.
Providing magnified video mirror images facilitates clinical visualization of the oral cavity. The dentist can be easily trained to utilize video mirror images as a frame of reference. The typical dentist works with a dental mirror daily. The familiarity with mirror images enables the retraining of dentists for use of inventor's dental camera apparatus. Improved visualization of the oral cavity facilitates precision dental procedures. Back and neck problems caused by excessive bending over patients is a significant occupational health concern of dentists. The need for adequate visualization of the oral cavity is well documented in the dental literature. Inventor's camera system provides a clinically tested solution to both of these problems.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a method of performing dental work and apparatus providing vision enhancement dentistry, which does not require an operator to hold thereof, enlarges an operative field, and provides a mirror image for proper viewing of the operative field.